Abstract
Background and Objectives: One of the most relevant consequences of diabetes mellitus is the temporal or complete infertility which can happen in young individuals. Therefore, the current systematic review aimed to investigate the effects of exercise to reduce the impact of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in seminal quality and related parameters. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was conducted in Pubmed and Web of Science databases following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guidelines (PRISMA). The inclusion criteria were: (1) the study included at least one experimental and one comparison group, (2) the sample of the study was comprised of humans or animals with diabetes mellitus, (3) an intervention based on physical exercise was conducted, and (4) the study reported variables related to the seminal quality. Results: A total of 115 articles were identified. However, only six accomplished the inclusion and exclusion criteria. This systematic review includes a sample size of 260 participants (180 rats and 80 humans). Intervention ranged from 6 to 14 weeks, with 3–6 days per week. All interventions performed endurance training (50–70% VO2max or maximum heart rate). Physical exercise increased sperm count, motility, and morphology, as well as improved testosterone, Luteinizing Hormone (LH), and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) levels. Moreover, physical exercise intervention reduced the percentages of sperms with negative Tubular Differentiation Index (TDI) and Spermiogenesis Index (SPI), DNA fragmentation, and also ameliorated the diabetes-induced apoptosis and improved sperm apoptosis index. Conclusions: Physical exercise could ameliorate diabetic pathological effects on sperm quality and related parameters that cause infertility or subfertility conditions. However, further homogeneous studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Highlights
The current diabetes mellitus prevalence is estimated in an uncertain interval from 340 to 536 million people worldwide
The articles were included in the review according to the following criteria: (1) the study included at least one experimental and one comparison group, (2) the sample of the study was comprised of humans or animals with diabetes, (3) there was an intervention based on physical exercise, (4) the study reported variables related to the seminal quality
The current systematic review results are in line with those previous studies, showing that physical exercise can reduce the impact of diabetes in sperm quality, hormonal levels, and even leading them to similar or higher values than those observed in healthy controls
Summary
The current diabetes mellitus prevalence is estimated in an uncertain interval from 340 to 536 million people worldwide. One of the most relevant consequences of diabetes mellitus is the temporal or complete infertility which can happen in young individuals. The current systematic review aimed to investigate the effects of exercise to reduce the impact of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in seminal quality and related parameters. The inclusion criteria were: (1) the study included at least one experimental and one comparison group, (2) the sample of the study was comprised of humans or animals with diabetes mellitus, (3) an intervention based on physical exercise was conducted, and (4) the study reported variables related to the seminal quality. Conclusions: Physical exercise could ameliorate diabetic pathological effects on sperm quality and related parameters that cause infertility or subfertility conditions. Further homogeneous studies are needed to confirm these findings
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